Employee engagement is a phrase that gets mentioned quite a bit nowadays. Books are published about it. Seminars are held about it. Articles, like this one, are written. But what does it really mean? And why should you care?

Employee engagement, also called work engagement or worker engagement, is a business management concept. An engaged employee is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work, and will therefore act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests.

Now that you know what employee engagement means, why should you and your healthcare organization care? Here are some of the results of effective employee engagement:

Employees understand their role in success – Employees need to understand how their job fits into the big picture. They need to know what they must do more of and do differently to help the business succeed. Hospital managers can help their employees by helping employees upgrade their skills to match the needs of the hospital.

Career development – Engagement levels rise when there is a formal career development system that includes components such as formal career tracks and annual career evaluations. People that are actively engaged help move the organization forward.

Maintaining credibility – Creating a bond with employees should be viewed as an investment. Sometimes you just need to get out of the way and let them do their work. When you go ahead and trust people, you have created a culture of trust. They will be engaged.

Commitment to your hospital and its patients – Studies have statistically shown that engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer-focused, safer and less likely to leave their employer.

As you can see, employee engagement leads to success. Our recognition programs will generate engagement in your organization. Fill out our Easy Recognition Quote (ERQ) request form today. An Award Concepts recognition professional will contact you soon thereafter to discuss a customized employee recognition strategy with you. Plus, we’ll send you a free Starbucks giftcard!

The power of recognition is real. There are several reasons why employers have recognition programs. They wish to create a positive work environment, create a culture of recognition, motivate high performance and support the organization’s mission and values. It is how a recognition program is actually executed, however, that determines if these goals will be met.

Here are some do’s and don’ts of effective employee engagement:

Don’t speak negatively about your recognition programs. A CEO of a company was once quoted as saying, “Yeah, we have an employee-of-the-month program. It doesn’t work very well and everybody seems to hate it, but it’s there, so we’re keeping it.” Instead, try to find out why employees seem to hate your program. Ask for their opinions on how to improve it.

Don’t overlook the details. One sales manager purchased neckties for all his sales reps, forgetting that several of them were women. Another office manager bought each of his fifteen employees a ham with personal funds one holiday season – only to be reminded that two of the employees were Jewish and did not eat ham.

Don’t publicly single out low-performers. One insurance company singles out low-performing salespeople at its quarterly awards function and has them get up in front of the company’s seven-hundred other sales reps and explain why they didn’t do a better job. This practice makes morale suffer drastically. There’s a difference between constructive criticism and humiliation. Support your employees. Be positive. If you need to address under-performance, do it in private. Here is a great article with tips for improving employee morale: Ideas for Employee Appreciation and Recognition.

Don’t ever forget about employee recognition. When asked what he liked to do to recognize his employees when they do good work, a manager said, “I like to write a letter to the employee’s personnel file.” When asked when was the last time he did that, the manager thought for a few seconds before responding, “1987.” It’s important to acknowledge your employees’ impact on your company a regular basis. Set biweekly reminders for yourself in Outlook with things such as “Who should be recognized this week?” or “Write a ‘thank you’ note to 2 members of the team today. Everyone is busy nowadays, but as a manager, it is your responsibility to recognize the people who deserve it. Don’t get successes go unnoticed.

Effective recognition motivates employee performance and elevates company morale. However, thoughtless and ineffective recognition efforts can generate long-lasting skepticism and negativity. When employers recognize good performance by their employees, chances are they will see that good performance again.

Award Concepts delivers employee recognition programs that are guaranteed to inspire, motivate and engage your workforce. Contact a recognition professional today for more information.

At Award Concepts, we understand that HR professionals are very busy people. Your list of responsibilities is growing every day. We get that. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay. We’re here to give you some simple, helpful tips to improve employee engagement in your workplace. Read on for some great tips.

1) Encourage open communication. Many managers are becoming very open, even sharing the financials of their departments because this shared knowledge can be a powerful tool. Let your employees know that they can ask you questions. Let them know what direction the hospital may be moving in. They’ll appreciate it.

2) Be supportive. Managers should assume employees are doing the right thing until proven otherwise. For example, when a patient complains about an employee, assume that person is “innocent until proven guilty,” but look into the situation. Talk to the employee about it. Listen to their side before making a judgement call.

3) Be accommodating. If there is an unique or unconventional way to meet employees’ pressing concerns, use it. Try to be flexible with any request for shift times or even something as simple as their lunch breaks.

4) Still keep a professional distance. Even as managers reach out to employees and try to be transparent, they need to keep their professional distance. Some information should not be shared, such as the manager’s dealings with other employees or with his or her own boss.

5) Support employee development. A manager should help employees be everything they want to be. Doing what they love to do will make them more productive.